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Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks arraignment scheduled today
by staff report via gan - News Limited Thursday, Feb 23 2012, 9:36am
international / injustice/law / other press

"If Manning had been a member of the U.S. Marine squad that admitted to systematically murdering two dozen innocent Iraqi men, women, and children in Haditha, Iraq, he'd be walking free today," Obuszewski said in a release. "Instead, he faces the real prospect of life in prison for telling the truth." -- The Baltimore Sun

[TORTURE victim] Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of leaking confidential US diplomatic and military cables to WikiLeaks, was due to be arraigned today.

Manning will be charged with 22 counts including aiding the enemy, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the internet, theft of public property or records, transmitting defence information, fraud and other related charges.

The 24-year-old faces life in prison if convicted of aiding the enemy - the most serious of the charges.

The arraignment was scheduled to take place at 1pm local time at Fort Meade, Maryland. Manning is being held in military custody nearby.

He will be required to enter a plea and asked if he wishes to be tried by a judge or jury. The trial date was likely to be set for May.

Manning hails from Oklahoma and served in Iraq from November 2009 until he was arrested in May 2010.

Investigators testified at a December hearing to determine whether a full court-martial should take place that contact information for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as well as leaked cables and classified information, were found on Manning's computer and digital storage devices.

They allegedly included Afghanistan and Iraq war reports, State Department cables, Guantanamo detainee assessments and videos of US airstrikes.

The US government says the leaks to the website jeopardised national security.

© 2012 News Limited.

[Anti-hacker, glamour boy Julian Assange will no doubt be contemplating the cost of breaking the hacker anonymity rule as Washington draws a step closer to nailing him.]

See also:
Baltimore Sun report

http://tinyurl.com/7ttdvno

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